The Wallpaper* pick of modern libraries

‘I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,’ Jorge Luis Borges once wrote. In earthlier terms, it's very much up to the architect whether a library is paradise or not. We love great literature, but we also love the beautiful buildings that shelve it. Please enjoy paging through our pick of modern libraries.

The writing's on the walls, ceiling and floors of Yangzhou's newest bookshop, where an optical illusion turns an ordinary, rectangular room into a cylindrical tunnel. Created by Shanghai-based studio XL-Muse for book retailers Zhongshuge, a black mirrored floor paired with two walls of arched shelving helps to create a seemingly never-ending funnel of books. Photography: Shao Feng

The design is inspired by the rich cultural heritage of Yangzhou, said to be a historical gathering place for literati and poets. The lead designer Li Xiang took inspiration from a verse in the classic Chinese romance novel A Dream of Red Mansions, by Cao Xueqin, which is thought to refer to the area in which the shop now stands. ('Spring flower and autumn moon, green hills and clear water; 24 bridges, relics of the Six Dynasties,' it reads.) The arched shelving represents the '24 bridges' in Xueqin's verse, and a swerving line in the ceiling represents the 'clear water' or river. Visitors are supposed to flow with the river, swept along by the black mirrored floor, deeper into the bookshop and 'into the vast ocean of knowledge,' explains Xiang. Photography: Shao Feng

The Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark

The Royal Danish library, home to such treasures as the manuscripts of Hans Christian Andersen and The Hamburg Bible, gained a more contemporary treasure in 1999 with the completion of its Black Diamond extension. So nicknamed for its glimmering black granite facade, the waterfront building was designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen, the same firm behind Aarhus’ Dokk1 Library and–in quite another vein–the new International Criminal Court. Photography: Courtesy of The Royal Library

The Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark

The extension is also home to a 600-seat performance space and two museums: the National Museum of Photography and the National Museum of Cartoon Art. Photography: Courtesy of The Royal Library

Dutch architecture practice Mecanoo Architecten had the winning entry to design the new Tainan Public Library (pictured). Working with local firm MAYU Architects+, the firm will bring to fruition a multi-level meeting space for the recently merged populations of Tainan County and Tainan City. Of note in the design: the 'second skin' wrapping the top floor and cooling down the building and outdoor spaces below.

Vector Architects are the imaginative brains behind this ocean and book-lover's paradise. Set on China's Bohai Sea Coast, the modern concrete structure keeps things simple as the dramatic views do all the work. Photography: Xia Zhi

You may have trouble focusing on your book as panoramic windows are thrown open to let in the sounds of the surf; fortunately, the library's meditation rooms account for that. Retreat to the top floor, where window slits let in just the right amount of light to illuminate the areas under the curved concrete ceiling. Photography: Xia Zhi

Inside, 27 pre-fabricated timber ribs wrap the space, becoming part of the seating at ground level. While in lesser hands the effect might be skeletal, here it is futuristic. And despite the literary merit of a whale's belly, there is something even more fitting about a library that connotes time travel

Of course, libraries aren't just for books. The Hyundai Card Music Library by architect Moongyu Choi hosts over 10,000 vinyls and some 3,000 music-related tomes– 2,600 of which are either extremely rare or out of print

The library is only open to Hyundai Card Holders and guests, but the designers imagine that the attached performance space and murals by the likes of JR will invigorate the local music community. Interiors by Gensler, while refined, stick with the theme of urban materials

Before they offered up the winning design for Tainan Public Library, Dutch firm Mecanoo Architecten won the opportunity to design the largest public library in Europe. In a Brutalist city, the Library of Birmingham's ringed facade certainly stands out. But it's actually a nod to two other city institutions– the steel and metal industries. Photography: Christian Richters

The core of the design is the Book Rotunda, where elevators ferry visitors across the openings between floors. However, it's another rotunda on the roof of the building that will catch a theater-lover's fancy: the Shakespeare Memorial Room from the library's original Victorian building has been carefully reassembled at new heights. Photography: Christian Richters

The refurb includes nods to original architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott with lighting reminiscent of his narrow vertical windows. It also incorporates a 15th Century gateway that once stood in London's Victoria and Albert museum. Photography: Ben Bisek for Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Dokk1 exemplifies the new function of the urban and community library as a gathering place for entertainment that goes beyond books. Sitting next to the Aarhus river and above a light rail station, Dokk1 is also a unifying element in a landscape once dominated by dockyards

Bodø–a Norwegian peninsula in the Arctic Circle– was significantly damaged during the Second World War. Stormen Konserthus by British firm DRDH Architects is a combination library and concert hall that was central to the city's reconstruction. Photography: David Grandorge

Although the building is unlike anything else in the town, the architects still made an attempt to speak the local vernacular, with a ribbed concrete facade that mirrors local timber. Meanwhile, the library's large windows bring the harbour indoors. Photography: David Grandorge

At the Alberto Kalach-designed José Vasconcelos Library are five distinct reading rooms dedicated to key Mexican intellectuals. Taken as a whole, the project is called the City of Books. The spaces, devoted to Ali Chumacero, Carlos Monsiváis, José Luis Martínez, Jaime García Terrés and Antonio Castro Leal were designed by Jorge Calvillo, JSa Arquitectura, Alejandro Sánchez García Arquitectos, Arquitectura 911sc and BGP Architects respectively

Inside the City of Books, readers can sink into late writer Carlos Monsiváis' personal book collection (note the Knolls chairs) or browse academic José Luis Martinez' library exactly as he organized it

In 2003, Moshe Safdie’s design for Salt Lake City’s public library transformed the city into an architecture destination. Working with local firm VCBO Architecture, Safdie borrowed elements from his Vancouver Public Library (1995) design while staying site-specific. Bustling spaces on the bottom levels give way to quieter areas for reflection on the upper floors, which are oriented around Wasatch Mountain views. Photography: BellaOra Studios courtesy of Salt Lake City Public Library

According to the library, ‘more than one percent of the construction cost of the Main Library was dedicated to public art.’ This includes immersive artworks in the Children’s Room by German artist Karl Schlamminger who previously collaborated with Safdie on MIT’s Class of 1959 Chapel. Photography: BellaOra Studios courtesy of Salt Lake City Public Library

Geisel Library, San Diego, USA

So named because it houses the Dr. Seuss collection, the Geisel Library was designed by William Pereira in the 1960's. The tiered Brutalist vision is eight stories, two of which are subterranean. Latvian-American architect Gunnar Birkerts updated the design in the 1990's. Photography: Erik Jepsen and UC San Diego Publications

Geisel Library, San Diego, USA

Pereira may not have the same name recognition as other mid-century architects, but amidst today's concrete resurgence, his design is as captivating as ever. California-native John Baldessari also lent his talents to the library in the form of permanent installation READ/WRITE/THINK/DREAM on the ground floor.Photography: Erik Jepsen and UC San Diego Publications

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven, USA

The Yale campus is practically a Who’s Who in modernist architecture. Joining buildings by Eero Saarinen and Philip Johnson is Gordon Bunshaft’s (SOM) 1963 home for the school’s rare books and manuscripts. Photography: Courtesy of Yale University Library

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven, USA

The Beineke Library’s distinctly translucent marble facade serves a double function: filtering through just enough daylight not to damage its delicate wards, and emitting a nightly glow. If that doesn’t charm you, it also features a sculpture courtyard by Isamu Noguchi. Photography: Courtesy of Yale University Library

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